Reaching out in Pakistan -- with a cooking class

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The U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, recently sponsored a cooking class at the Rangoonwala Community Center, where 30 ‘female housewives & future/mothers of Pakistan’ were tutored in ‘Festive American Christmas cooking and traditional local Eid family servings.’’

If their current anti-terrorist campaign won’t win the hearts and minds of Pakistanis, the State Department hopes that Facebook might.

The note on the cooking class comes from the new Facebook page of the U.S. consulate general in Karachi.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is ‘an avid supporter of using new technologies to create social networks that help people share important information and build understanding,’ says Elizabeth Colton, director of public affairs for the consulate there.

‘The launch of our Facebook fan page is a step in this direction. We hope to draw an active group of subscribers and encourage a constructive dialogue among members of this online community.’

Forty-eight fans have signed up so far.

-- Mark Silva